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Environment Colorado Research & Policy Center is a 501(c)(3) organization. We are dedicated to protecting our air, water and open spaces. We investigate problems, craft solutions, educate the public and decision-makers, and help the public make their voices heard in local, state and national debates over the quality of our environment and our lives.

It’s 2017 — we should be able to power our lives without polluting our environment. We have the ability to produce and consume energy and still enjoy healthy communities — and give our children and their children a livable future. That’s why we’re calling on cities, universities, businesses, and our state governments to commit to 100% renewable energy.

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Our children need safe drinking water – especially at school where they go to learn and play each day. Unfortunately, lead is contaminating drinking water at schools and pre-schools across the country.

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Denver, CO. –More than 54,567 kindergarten through twelfth grade children in Colorado attend schools within one mile of a fracked oil or gas well, putting them at increased risk of health impacts from dangerous chemicals and air pollution.

Oil and gas companies are fracking near our communities, polluting our air and water, and risking the health of our children and other vulnerable populations. Fracking often is done very close to vulnerable people – infants, school children, the elderly and those with weakened immune systems – even though communities typically seek to keep industrial activities far away from facilities serving these populations, such as schools, hospitals, nursing homes and day care centers.

The combination of two technologies— hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling—has enabled the oil and gas industry to engage in an effort to unlock oil and gas in underground rock formations across the United States. “Fracking,” however, has also led to tremendous environmental harm and put the health and safety of communities across the state and country at risk. This report quantifies the total impacts on our air, water and climate over the last decade.

Denver, CO — Wind, solar, and other renewable sources now make up just about 10 percent of the nation’s energy mix, but transitioning to 100 percent clean energy is both necessary and feasible, a coalition of experts said today.

“A 100 percent clean energy future isn’t only technically possible and imperative for slowing climate change,” said Kim Stevens, director of Environment Colorado, who spoke this morning on a renewable energy briefing. “It will also ensure a more resilient electric grid and more stable economy.”

Research & Policy Results

Today, Environment Colorado released a new report: “Shining Cities: At the Forefront of America’s Solar Energy Revolution”, a first-of-its kind comparison of the growth of solar in major American cities. The report ranks Denver 10th in the nation for installed solar as well as in solar capacity per capita. Environment Colorado was joined at Mancinelli’s Auto Repair Center by Mary Beth Susman, President of the Denver City Council; Rebecca Cantwell, Senior Program Director with COSEIA, the Colorado Solar Energy Industries Association; and Steve Mancinelli, owner of 100% solar-powered auto body shop Mancinelli’s Auto Repair Center, to discuss ways to keep Denver and the rest of Colorado at the forefront of solar energy development.

As the Department of the Interior debated whether to allow uranium mining on the borders of Grand Canyon National Park, we released research showing that every uranium mining site in the West has required some degree of toxic cleanup. Interior Secretary Salazar decided to ban new mining claims for 20 years – the maximum allowed by law.

In conjunction with our national federation, we helped convince the Environmental Protection Agency to set smart new limits on the amount of smog-forming carbon pollution that new coal-fired power plants can emit – an important victory for the 300,000 adults and 98,000 children in Colorado who suffer from asthma, which is exacerbated by smog.

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Building a greener future

Environment Colorado Research & Policy Center gratefully accept bequests, beneficiary designations of IRAs and life insurance, and gifts of securities to support our work. Your gift will assure that we can continue to protect Colorado’s air, water and open spaces for future generations.